Falling

Coming Home

*CASEY*

Adam stands there, with the door open, in complete shock. I can't if he's surprised, angry, happy, or what. I do know that the longer he stands there, not saying anything, the harder my heart starts to pound. The last thing I want is another outburst.

"Adam?" I say his name softly.

Adam blinks, "Sorry, babe, come in."

Adam steps out of the way, and I step into the apartment and pull my suitcase in behind me. It's a risk bringing the clothes that Miller bought me here, but I hope Adam doesn't notice or question it.

Once I'm in the house, Adam pulls me into a hug. I drop the handle of my suitcase and wrap my arms around him. My heart is pounding, and I know I'm still scared. I shouldn't have come here. But I knew it was the only way to hurt Miller the way he hurt me.

"I missed you,"Adam whispers.

"Me too," I whisper back and step back.

Adam hasn't changed a bit. He looks surprisingly good, happy. He isn't angry or drunk like I had feared. Instead, a big smile is plastered on his face,

"I was just about to put a movie on. I can make some popcorn for us?" His voice is hopeful.

I nod, "I'd love that."

Adam disappears into the kitchen, and I take my suitcase into the guest room. At least here there's less of a chance of Adam finding it. I notice that the closet hasn't been touched, and I'm surprised that Adam didn't get rid of any of my things. It almost makes me feel bad for leaving him without a word. Almost.

In the living room, Adam is waiting for me on the couch with the popcorn he promised. I crawl onto the couch next to him, but I try to keep some distance between us. Thankfully, Adam either doesn't notice or doesn't care, and just hands me the popcorn.

"So what movie are we watching?" I ask, trying to sound as normal as possible.

Adam holds up the case, "The Notebook."

I almost choke on the popcorn I just threw in my mouth, but I recover quickly, "Good choice."

Adam reaches out and pats my thigh, "I know it's your favorite."

I smile at him, and shove another handful of popcorn into my mouth.

Not anymore.

The movie starts, and Adam and I sit there in the silence watching it. I'm thankful that he's not like Cameron in the way that he needs to have long conversations. He accepted me back into the apartment, and that was it. No conversation about what happened, no questions about why I'm back. No apology either, but I wasn't expecting that.